Jam
by Imyoshi
Summary: Ruby Rose had an unorthodox way of defining friendship. Such things included in her bag of goodies was a friendship contract, a coupon book, trips to the Dust store, the occasional board game night where said cinnamon bun was a sore loser, an unfair game of tag, one-sided friend privileges, and much more. Why didn't Jaune Arc read the fine print? Stop laughing, Yang!


**Disclaimer:** I own nothing of RWBY.

* * *

 **Jam**

 **By: Imyoshi**

"Please sign right here."

Jaune Arc tilted his head at the stack of papers shoved into his hands by a persisted Ruby Rose.

His back was pressed to the wall as she stood before him in all her five-foot-two glory. She balanced on the soles of her boots to appear taller. Maybe an intimidation tactic? A failed one since he had to look down to greet her. Blinking, he read over the title at least four times before concluding that this wasn't a practical joke. Not with the way her cheeks puffed out in anticipation.

What in the world? A Friendship Contract?

Right there in bold black-and-white was a contract to define their friendship. Bullet-pointed, outlined, double-spaced front and back, a header, the works! Someone spent a lot of time on this.

He mindlessly flipped through the pages. Paragraph after paragraph, subsections and vice-versa greeted him. All of it very well organized considering it came from Ruby of all people. When he finished inspecting the contract, after pinching himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming, he looked down at the gazing cinnamon roll with thinned lips.

Uh?

No wonder Ruby was an anti-social butterfly. Yang's words, not his. Friendships did not need contracts. Legally binding pieces of paper of what to do and not to do as friends shouldn't be a thing or sign by any clear-thinking individual. Sadly Jaune Arc must live under a rock because he signed the darn thing anyway. Must of had something to do with her puppy dog eyes peeking over the edge of the parchment as he read over it. Melted his resolve like a stick of butter.

Judging by the way she had this color-coded and ready for him the week after initiation, she must have had this thing laying around for some time. Which begged the question if everyone else signed the contract? Too bad he couldn't ask anyone since she cornered him in the hallway, right after a gruesome study session with Pyrrha and her need to be one-hundred and ten percent on academics. A mathematical impossibility, but he wasn't opening up that can of worms around his partner. Either way, too late to complain now. Best hold his head up high and play along.

So what if he signed this contract?

What was the worst that could happen?

 **...**

 _Knock_! _Knock_! _Knock_!

"Jaune!"

 _Knock_! _Knock_! _Knock_!

"Jaune!"

 _Knock_! _Knock_! _Knock_!

"Jaune!"

The slumbering members of Team JNPR stirred irritably from the trifecta knocking. Who in their right mind would be rapping their knuckles against their door at this dreadful hour? Maybe if they closed their eyes extra-hard, the person would go away? It almost appeared like that plan worked with their thoughts turning to mud, another victory for Team JNPR.

 _Knock_! _Knock—a_ pillow soared across the room and smashed against Jaune's face.

"Answer it!" Nora yelled from Ren's chest, eyes still closed, grumpy with Ren's sensual backrubs only easing the tension mildly. "Now."

Not wanting to be on the end of another Nora pillow throw, the sleepy leader yawned and rubbed the sand out of his eyes. He sighed wistfully at the door and dreaded the meeting already. What could Ruby want at this hour? Please to dear Oum be something simple like asking for a cup of sugar.

Jaune yawned a second time and stood up. He slightly half-opened the door and peeked through the crack. A snort of disbelief almost escaped his lips. Ruby stood at the opposite end with an eagerness that should be illegal this early in the morning. That enthusiasm only served her further by thrusting the door to his room open with one hand. If she noticed his exhausted appearance, she blatantly ignored it.

"Yes, Ruby? What can I do for you?"

"You have to walk me to the Dust shop to pick up the newest issue of Weapons Magazine."

His sleep-deprived mind required a few seconds to process her request. "Come again?"

She giggled. "You're such a goofball. It's in the contract, silly. The first Saturday of every month you must go with me to pick up the latest issue of Weapons Magazine."

Again, he demanded a few seconds to comprehend what she was asking. "Ruby... it's Saturday, and it's seven in the morning."

"And the store opens up at eight! Get your lazy butt moving! I'll be waiting down the hall!"

"Can't we go later—and she's gone. I don't get how she can be so hyper in the—?!"

A frustrated pillow smashed against the wood, this time it belonged to his monster-bedhead partner. Her glowing green eyes promised a brutal training session if she didn't get her precious sleep. Ha. Ha-ha! No, he wasn't joking, Pyrrha Nikos in the morning greatly contrasted her counterpart, public appearance Pyrrha. Precious beauty sleep made for a proper and content four-time champion.

Sighing, Jaune went through the motions of getting dressed, hoping to Oum Ruby came knocking any second to cancel the trip. Not a chance, the sluggish leader got dressed and walked out the door as the sleepy snores of his team sparked jealousy in the ordinarily lighthearted things he called eyes. Dust! The sun still partially slept with only a sliver of light edging in the horizon. Who woke up this early for a dreaded magazine? Who woke up this fresh on a Saturday morning period?

"Finally! I've been waiting here forever!"

More like five minutes. Still, Jaune thought bitterly as the reaper leader began shoving him toward the nearest Bullhead, Ruby Rose was insane enough to wake up early on a Saturday morning for an overpriced paperweight. Twenty points said it had something related to Saturday morning cartoons. Ah, sweet, blissful, ignorant childhood, how he missed it.

Ruby robbed him of his thoughts with a shove to his shoulder. "Aren't you excited, Jaune? This month's catalog is supposed to cover Dust-based weaponry and how to apply it to your weapon more efficiently."

He managed a small smile. "Oh, yeah, totally, because Crocea Mors needs Dust. I can't live without it."

Ruby stuck her tongue out. "You're such a dork."

"Takes one to know one, Crater Face."

Another shove to the shoulder.

His next smile came with a snort of laughter. Not a bad start to a Saturday, he guessed. Could've been worse. Could've been better. Her boundless enthusiasm helped.

"And we get to do this every month!"

Only so much.

 **...**

Lie Ren from an early age learned to adapt, drop, disregard, and overall overlook things on purpose since some reasons were better left unknown. Certainly kept the headaches down to a minimal. However, when his leader walked into their room, a quarter to ten, holding in his hand in what appeared to be a stack of catalogs filled to the brim with weapons, weapons he had no desire learning or owning, he had questions.

Ren raised only one brow when Jaune dropped the pile on the floor and fell onto his bed with his face pressed against his pillow. A minute passed in silence and Ren grabbed a magazine from off the floor and sat on the mattress across from his leader. He flipped through the pages smoothly, not at all interested in the reading material, and shut the magazine with a loud clap.

"Need I ask?"

"Ruby..." Jaune mumbled through the pillow.

"Ah." Bits of the morning fiasco came back to him. Honestly, Jaune had no one to blame but himself. "From what I recall, you signed a contract."

"I know what I signed! Don't remind me."

Ren chuckled. The world must be coming to an end. "I'm not so sure you do. Do you happen to have a copy?"

His fellow male reached underneath his pillow and pulled out a surprisingly thick pile of papers. "Here."

The Lie grabbed the papers, piqued at the formality of it all. He read over the parts of the contract. The offer was a mutual friendship of two parties, ergo Ruby Rose and Jaune Arc. Acceptance came from his friend's limited hindsight to sign said contract without reading it. Consideration and blah-blah-blah, he skipped all that and focused on the meat of the document, the writing, benefits, and consequences for breach of contract. Uh-huh, right there, under the No Stealing Cookie Clause and before the Crying Over Spilt Milk Is Okay Clause was the monthly accompany to the Dust store to pick up the latest Weapons Magazine agreement.

"During the first Saturday of every month, the party, that's you, must accompany one Ruby Rose to the nearest Dust store to pick up the latest edition of Weapons Magazine, or face the consequences of a wet-willy."

Ren blinked at what he just read over. Standard and formal like any regular contract, but somehow had that Ruby Rose spin to it. He doubted his leader knew of the breach of contract part, but something told him the thought of getting a wet-willy would still outweigh the need to sleep, exhausted from training or not.

Jaune said nothing to what Ren read, so the Lie pressed onward.

He skipped a few more pages, not interested in the Board Game Night articles. Then he found a page with a booklet of sorts taped to one of the pages. A quick unravel revealed another section, this one eye-catching.

Hn? Friendship Privileges? An interesting sounding caption. What kind of stuff existed within these sections for his clueless leader? Only one way to find out. He sat back on the headboard of the bed and read while his leader continued to breathe through the cotton of his pillow. When Ren couldn't hold back a small chuckle upon reading the section, his leader turned his head and glared.

"What? What's so funny?"

He snorted at the thought of his leader following all of these rules. "Do you know you're obligated to give her all your strawberries? For breakfast, lunch, and dinner?"

"Really? Well, what does she give me?"

"Brussels sprouts." Jaune moaned and buried his face into the pillow again. Ren shook his head and pushed the booklet to his face. "Here, this is for you. You're entitled to it per the Friend Privileges article."

Jaune reached out and grabbed the booklet. When it became apparent it was homemade construction paper and the rough texture of glitter a dead giveaway, he sat up and glared at Ren. The latter hardly noticed the change as he fixated himself on studying the pros and cons of making Nora sign one of these.

"What is it?"

"A coupon book."

A coupon book? Jaune shook his head with a small smile slipping through the cracks. Of all the—could Ruby be any more adorable? Made it excruciatingly hard to be angry at the Firecracker for dragging him out of bed seven in the morning. Psh! Her natural cookie-chomper charm made saying _no_ a physical impossibility. No wonder she got him to sign the contract, and speaking of legally, soul-crushing papers, he eyed the thick stack of what he now dubbed _His Rights_ in Ren's hands with apprehensiveness.

If this morning was but a taste of his friendship with Ruby, he gulped at the thought of what else he was forced to endure. The cookie monster had almost equal reserves of energy in comparison to their trigger-happy pancake lover. Best try to salvage this situation and consider his options, but first, clearance!

"I'm in way over my head, aren't I?"

Ren finally eyed his friend, not interested in sugar-coating his thoughts. "You could always not follow the rules if that's what you're asking."

His leader sighed. "Can't. An Arc never goes back on their word. That includes my signature."

Ren shrugged and pushed the contract back into Jaune's reluctant hands. "Then I don't know what to tell you, except that next time you should read the fine print."

One last chance of freedom. "This can't be legally binding for, you know, the consequences?"

"It has the Schnee Company Logo on the bottom, notarized and stamped."

A head slammed against a nearby wall. Funny, he mimicked the same knock pattern Ruby used to rouse them from their sleep. Ren kept his tongue still as Jaune went through the five stages of grief in one quick succession. Denial struck him hard as he hid the contract underneath his mattress. Anger quickly followed suit with him berating himself for not thinking before he acted. Bargaining with Monty himself proved fruitless. Depression hit him hard when his head bashing slowed to a crawl, and acceptance finished with him pulling the contract out from underneath his mattress.

Jaune sighed and rested his stomach on his pillow with his feet pushed against the wall. "I might as well read this thing since it's Saturday and I've got nothing better to do. So, what's in store for Jaune Arc?"

Uh-oh, third person syndrome was sinking in. "Fearless Leader?"

"I'm not fearless."

"You got to be to sign a contract without reading it first."

Jaune looked away from the papers to glare at his fellow male. "I'm starting to think you're enjoying this."

"No..." Ren dawned. He then got up and exited the room with a half-hearted wave. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to find Nora before any of the professors do. Good luck."

He humphed. Fine by him, fewer distractions to keep him from reading this contract. All the better to prepare for future Ruby madness. Although, madness had no formula to follow or steps that could be taken to prevent it. Madness moved like fire, unpredictable, and often without warning.

 _Knock_! _Knock_! _Knock_!

"Jaune?"

 _Knock_! _Knock_! _Knock_!

"Jaune?"

 _Knock_! _Knock_! _Knock_!

"Jaune?"

The Arc tilted his head away from the contract. So? The knocking was more of a habit than a one-time joke. A Ruby Rose custom guarantee? Maybe something she picked up along the way, like Nora's habit to talk in her sleep or Pyrrha's need to horde chocolates?

 _Sigh_.

He rubbed his face in awkwardness, no time to read the contract, better to indulge her since signs pointed to it becoming a future endeavor. So when he moved and opened the door, he wasn't all surprised when Ruby waltzed right in and greeted him with her hands thrown up. Stars danced in those glittering eyes of hers, and he feared for his life.

"Hey, Bestie! It's Saturday, so you know what that means!"

He blinked and pointed down at the forgotten magazines. "But we already got your magazines."

She laughed at his silliness. He needed to read that contract. "Nope! I'm talking about our weekly game of tag! Ready to feel the burn?!"

He refused to blink, staring hard at the walking mass of sugar.

Tag?

Okay? Yeah. Sure! Tag sounded fun! Something to get the blood pumping! At least it beat waking up before the sun and heading to Vale to pick-up some boring weapon magazine in the raw temperatures of the morning.

Fun in the sun, what could go wrong?

 **...**

 _Gasp_!

Jaune Arc dropped to his knees, covered in sweat with his heart pounding loudly in his ears. He longed since abandoned his hoodie in favor of his orange shirt which now clung tightly to his tired body. Tag at the outskirts of Beacon Academy sounded fun at first. Plenty of space to run with nothing but trees to bump into, but he soon learned of the horrors of what a childish game of tag could be like with Ruby.

A hellish experience with the adorable reaper always twenty steps ahead of him.

Petals covered the forest floor, and a tornado of blood spun around him a few times before jumping up in front of him with a harmless grin. Then the mass began running in circles around the downed knight, mocking him with her phenomenal speeds. Remember, Future Targets no one could outrun the reaper.

"This is great! Yang hates tag, but it was my favorite game as a kid."

"I... wonder... why." Breathe, damn it, breathe! "How about... we take a break?"

Ruby stopped running around him to lean over his hunch form and peek at the sweat dripping down his chin, which meant he was having a blast. No pain, no game! Sweat equaled fun, but maybe a break wouldn't hurt. After all, the Rubster needed to check what was next on their day of activities.

"Sure, let's take five. I'll be right back."

A barrage of rose petals pelted his face, but he welcomed the breezy sensation. Stupid sun! Stop being all hot! He never thought he missed the tundra of frost from the morning air. Dust, playing tag with Ruby burned one's lungs to a crisp. The field littered with rose petals painted a pretty picture of how much they played, and that irked him. He had yet to tag her once. How was one supposed to catch someone who practically moved like the wind? Madness, utter madness.

Sadly, he signed up for this with his abrasive attitude.

 _Cough_! _Cough_!

The worn out leader stood up, wiping his forehead with his arm. Was every Saturday going to be like this? Waking up early and then forced to play a one-sided game of tag until his lungs threatened to burst in his ribs. None of this even attributed to half a day yet, who knew what else awaited him? The Arc didn't know if he could stomach what she had in store for the other six days of the week.

Breathing, his nose picked up on his nasty scent, and he looked down at his sweat-drenched shirt. An urge to peel it off came over him, but he frowned at the idea. Taking his shirt off outside felt weird. Maybe it was a self-conscious act, but he retained some semblance of humility.

 _Sniff_!

Ew! Then again, he reeked. Screw it! Too tired to care about modesty, he removed his shirt and used it as a towel to wipe his forehead. He brushed back his hair, soaking in the sun with his bare chest as he finished catching his breath. Behind him, quiet as a mouse, Ruby peeked from behind a tree as she observed the way his shoulder blades and back muscles worked. She hadn't planned on spying, more than ready to blurt out their next activity, but upon stumbling him removing his shirt enticed her to hide and watch.

She had never seen him without his shirt on, very less hoodie. Her partner was wrong, not scraggly, but tall and blond for sure.

 _Grumble_!

Ruby pouted when her stomach grumbled. Right! They had a schedule to upkeep!

After a fair-and-square game of tag came food. Jaune had to be starving. Look at the way his chest heaved when he turned to shake his shirt free of sweat, unable to wipe away the glistening liquid from his skin and—lunch! Sweet merciful Dust, lunch!

She ran from her hiding spot and up toward him, sliding up against the oblivious noodle. A tiny snicker passed her lips. "Oops, I didn't think you get so sweaty." Ruby laughed. "Sorry, I'll bring you a towel next time."

An urge to cover himself came and passed.

Too late now, even if his skin somehow burned hotter underneath the sun. "Yeah, that'd be nice. I hate getting sweat in my eyes." Jaune took a hearty breath and laughed. "So? What's next on our agenda?"

He silently prayed for nothing.

"Lunch!"

Huh? Lunch? Not nothing exactly but it beat running around in circles, and all the chasing left him feeling quite peckish. Food plus he sounded good. He liked good. Yes, now this was an activity he could get behind. No more running in loops in a noble, but pointless endeavor to catch a blur. Just them and a plate of food.

What was the worst that could happen?

 **...**

The minute the Fearless Leader sat down with a plate of food, a mountain of brussels sprouts covered his plate from an overly enthusiastic Rubes. A not-so-subtle hand then slipped on by and stole his strawberries and strawberry flavored smoothie. Somehow he forgot about this tiny section Ren read to him. Begged the question why she even got those vegetables if she didn't plan on eating them but asking that to the person who made a Friendship Contract defeated the purpose.

He looked off to the side to find her humming in delight between each bite of the delectable fruit. Ruby loved her strawberries, and here he thought she preferred cookies. A common mistake on his part, like how most people thought Headmaster Ozpin loved coffee when it was hot chocolate he enjoyed.

Looking down at his plate, he brushed aside the lackluster vegetables and found a strawberry underneath all the green. The leader grabbed—as per the agreement in the contract—and poked her nose with the edge of the fruit, withholding the urge to say boop.

"You missed one."

She stopped chewing between her mouthful of sweetness, smiled and opened her mouth.

He paused, not entirely sure if feeding her was written in the contract. Regular people didn't feed each other. A more intimate act between couples. Oh well. Not like Miss Bee's Knees followed the code of normality anymore than Nora. So he indulged her like he indulged all her awkward silliness.

Soft lips bit down on the strawberry, sweet juice coated them in a glimmering shine, and she savored the taste with an adorable chew. Ruby shivered in delight. Something about him offering her the fruit made it taste all the much sweeter. A soft moan of pleasure passed her lips, and she released a puff of air in happiness. Then a cute burp followed, and he hadn't two words to rub together.

"Mmmm! That was good! Do you have any more?"

He recovered from his shock and shook his head before offering her a plate of leafy greens. "No, but I got brussels sprouts."

"Bleh!" Ruby slinked away and sipped away at her—his—strawberry smoothie. "No thanks. That's rabbit food."

He refrained from mentioning that so were strawberries, instead wondering what was to come next on this day of fun. He feared to ask, but must. "So? What's next? A movie?"

She hummed absently between each bite, not afraid to talk with her mouth full. "Next? Next, I got to work on maintenance for Crescent Rose. You could come if you want, but I think you'll be bored. It's a lot of busy work."

He sighed in relief. Thank Oum for busy work. No. Thank Crocea Mors for being simple in maintenance. Sword and shield, that was all a Huntsman needed. A high-caliber sniper rifle that turned into a scythe, yeah, nope! Not for this Arc. Nothing could ruin his mood now—no!

No! He almost choked on his meal. Stop thinking like that! Worse things could happen. Worse things have happened.

"Wait! I just remembered something!" She suddenly stood up with a fire in her eyes. Darn it! "I need to pick a spot in your room."

"... What?

 **...**

Pyrrha Nikos entered her team's room to find the place turned upside down as if a typhoon hit.

Eyes quickly scanned the room for damage, and she found her leader and his bed the only things free from destruction. A thousand stare accompanied her partner as if a haunting memory constantly replayed in his mind. She worried about him. Maybe she should take him to the school's nurse for a checkup? Then again, perhaps nothing out-of-the-ordinary happened. All this mayhem mixed with his muteness could only mean one thing.

"What did Nora do this time?"

He snorted. "It wasn't Nora."

Okay, now the champion felt inclined to check on his mental state and send him to the nurse. Because she wished to give him the benefit of the doubt, honest to Monty she did, but the idea of Ren possibly doing this sounded more absurd than head trauma. Likely something occurred when he left this morning with Ruby. She admitted she failed in that regard to stopping him, too tired at the time to care for anything but the covers keeping her warm. A lapse of judgment, but not again!

She moved to sit down on one side of his bed, but he stopped her. "Don't sit there, that's Ruby's spot."

Her eyes moved between him and the corner of his bed. She heard him right, right? "Ruby's... spot?"

"Yeah, you see, that spot's close enough to the window to enjoy a breeze and jump out in case of a Grimm attack, but not too close that the sun would burn her skin and get in her eyes while she's playing on her Scroll. It's also close enough to the wall so she can kick her legs up if she's feeling lazy, but not too close to the door where she can't suddenly dodge Yang from sneak hugging her."

She only heard one thing. "She has a spot now?"

"Part of the Friend Privileges Article." Jaune said easily, too easily. "Ruby Rose is entitled to one spot in Team JNPR's room of her choosing, no buts, no cuts, no coconuts."

No buts, no cuts, no—what? The champion looked around the mess to see if Team RWBY and the rest of her team were hiding to surprise her and clue her in on the weird joke. Nothing like that happened, and her partner acted one-hundred percent seriously. Her eyes traveled back to the spot proclaimed for their sister team's leader, then to her distracted partner, and then to the mess around them. At the very least she could piece together why the room looked like the way it did if Ruby knocking at seven in the morning constituted her behavior as such. However, how or why this was left a lot to be desired.

She had little choice but to ask, for her sake. "I'm sorry? Friend Privileges Article?"

"It's part of the Friendship Contract I signed."

Again, she glimpsed around the destroyed room, and repeatedly nothing jumped out and yelled surprise. "... You're not joking."

He chuckled. "I wish I was. Trust me, Pyrrha, never sign a contract without reading it first."

Oh, she offered a laugh of her own, awkwardly rubbing her neck. Jaune didn't need to tell her that. Some people thought she wanted to be Pumpkin Pete's official mascot. Ha-ha. No. That cereal tasted dreadful, and yet she posed for the cover and endorsed its unhealthiness with a smile, one of her few mistakes upon discovering her newfound popularity.

So she understood his pain all too well. While sympathy served as a good relationship between the two, she couldn't quite say what a Friendship Contract entailed. Eagerness to know what Ruby wrote grasped at her. Might be fun to learn of her partner's upcoming future. At the very least she could avoid another scenario related to this morning's mishap.

She giggled and smiled wholesomely at the trapped leader, taking a seat on the other side of his bed while she freed her feet from her boot's tight confines. When he sighed in open despair, she offered another chuckle, nothing like humor to ease the soul.

"So... what now?"

"Now?" Jaune repeated. He held up the contract for her to see. "Now I read this thing front and back. I'm not going to be caught with my pants down again."

She nodded. "A sound idea, and while you focus on that, I'll get this place cleaned up."

Ordinarily, he refused such an offer, knowing he should have cleaned up this mess by now, but desperation made it hard to deny her kindness. The seconds ticked on by, and the words on the page were not any closer to disappearing. One glance at the clock revealed both hands on the twelve. Yup. Time was not on his side, and reading? Not one of his strong suits. No other options left. He pushed his back against the wall and began reading, accepting his partner's offer in silence.

He read for a while, skipping little details more for the sake of clarification. Then he found the calendar page of their weekly activities, and right there on Saturday was Weapons Magazine Morning and Ten O'clock Tag with lunch labeled for last. Good to know nothing else clashed with him today, but the thought of never sleeping in on a Saturday troubled his stomach. Anyway, moving on, oh? Sunday was board game night. Nothing else but board games. That sounded fun. Fingers crossed.

"Huh, Monday night is movie night. Well, ain't that something?" Jaune read on. "I wonder what else I'm in store for?"

Tuesday was Training Time with Bestie, followed by Wrestling Wednesday. Both days included tag, but to avoid conflicting schedules for classes, it got moved to after class. Surprisingly, he had Thursday filled to the brim with video games with Freestyle Friday ending the weekday. What that involved, he hadn't a clue. Nonetheless, a manageable schedule.

Then he turned the page.

A picture of a crudely drawn scythe greeted him. Next to it were slash marks. He peeked down and tilted his head. Interesting? The contract had a three strike policy. He idly wondered what that meant.

 _If my bestie breaks any of the rules or makes me mad, then he will receive a strike or sometimes a frowny sticker. Once he gets three of those, shame on you, they'll have to make me a batch of double-chocolate chip cookies. No exceptions! Eh, make it a baker's dozen. That'll teach you!_

He blinked once, twice, and thrice. The spellbound boy looked away from the contract and at the destruction of his semi-clean room. Panicked gripped him. If Ruby behaved like this for a _spot_ in their bedroom, how quickly could she get offended? Forget offended, remembering all these rules might end him in the proverbial doghouse. Three strikes and a batch of cookies? A baker's dozen! Nope, nope, nope. That was the last straw.

He required a second opinion. Only people going through his pain might be able to alleviate the pressure building, and this musician could think of three people facing the same dilemma as him. Without a pause, he got up and went to Team RWBY's dorm. With any luck, Ruby was still slaving away on her precious baby.

"I think I need a second opinion? I'm going to ask her team how they handle this."

Pyrrha shooed away some dust bunnies. "Good luck."

He sighed. Luck? Ha! He needed more than that to remember every detail of this contract. When he walked out his door, he checked his corners to make sure no Ruby in sight and stood in front of her team's exit. A compulsion to knock three times seized his urges, but he shook away the thoughts and only rapped his knuckles twice on the entrance.

 _Knock_! _Knock_!

Not a second later it got thrown open with a familiar mop of blonde hair and predatory smirk standing on the other side.

"Yellow!" Yang greeted, hoping he laughed at the clever pun.

He did not. "Hey Yang, can I talk to you girls about something. It's about Ruby." Jaune held up the settlement. "And this contract."

A snort escaped her for his joke, but when he refused to laugh, that snort turned into a playful scoff. "Wait? You signed that? No wonder she's been such in a good mood lately."

The way Yang said that hardly filled him with hope. "You didn't?"

She sighed and shook her head. Her arm then wrapped around his shoulder and pulled him into her room. "You might want to get in here. Blake! Ice Queen! We have fresh meat!"

He regarded the two lazing on their beds, playing with their Scrolls. Blake kept her stomach flat on the mattress, lying prone, but Weiss surprised him by with her feet pressed against the wall. The pairs of eyes turned to him and the stack of papers in his arms, suddenly not so bored anymore. Yang clued them in and pushed him forward, smirking like crazy.

"Jaune here signed Ruby's contract."

He ignored Yang and dreaded feeling sinking in his stomach and stepped forward. "You're her friends too, how do you deal with all the rules?"

"We're her teammates." Blake said neutrally.

Whelp, if that didn't drain the hope out of him, Snow Angel's piece of criticism certainly did. "Did you even read the fine print before signing that? You're forced to wear matching outfits on every first of the month of her choosing."

He stepped back. Uh? Matching outfits? Chose by Ruby? Yikes. He failed to read that far into it. Heck, who was he kidding? The clueless fool barely read the title before signing it. Wait a minute, speaking of fine print, he held up the papers and pointed at the Schnee Company logo.

"If you weren't planning on signing it, then why did you notarize it?"

She looked away unashamed. "That was the only way I could get her to stop asking."

Ruby pleading over-and-over again? Yup, sounded about right. Snow Angel had limits. Bribing her leader, while immoral in the grand scheme of things was absolutely genius. Now the poor goofball that ended up signing that thing—oh, right.

Moving on, he shifted over to the booklover. "And you? How did you get out of signing it?" Blake deliberately hid behind her book and remained as quiet as a feline. "Blake?"

Fortunately for him, Yang answered for her and patted him on the back. "Blake-y here sold you out. Who do you think told Ruby about you? She said and I quote, _Jaune Arc seems like the type of person to do anything for a friend_. And here we are. Any questions?"

Plenty, but he grinned weakly at the smirking brawler. "And let me guess, you're her sister, so you didn't have to sign the contract?"

She laughed. "Look on the bright side, Arc..."

"... And that is?"

"Oh?" Yang coughed. "Um, I was kind of hoping you fill in that small detail. Okay, uh? Oh yeah! Matching outfits!"

"I hate you all."

Another laugh, but this time she began shoving him out the door. "Aw, we love you too. Make sure you tell Ruby your size, or else you're going to look silly walking around in an outfit that doesn't fit you."

"Wait a minute! I'm not through with you—?!"

 _Slam_!

A door slammed in his face. Why was he not surprised? A puff of hair passed his lips, and he returned to his room with his mood worse off than before. By now his team heard of his predicament and watched him for the remainder of the day as he read over the contract. Of all people, Nora laughed the hardest.

He barely reacted to most of what he read. Some if not most was tolerable with a head-ups given. Today had been nothing more of a curveball for him.

Next to sharing outfits, her birthday forced him to hand over all his Halloween candy. A terrible loss. Not to mention at the end of each month they had an eating contest, something about being closer to Death and why not live a little? Dentist appointments required him to hide her from her team, and he was in charge of taking Zwei to the vet, which urged the question to who was Zwei?

 _Breathe_.

So many things to plan for, so little choice, and with that, he finished.

Jaune stretched and dropped the bundle of papers on his bed. Finally! Done! No more reading. Sure, he remembered roughly half of it, but he got the general gist of it. Expect the unexpected, Ruby Rose Edition. Maybe now he could plan accordingly and manage his life back in order. A repeat of this morning was not something he wished to experience.

Kicking his feet out, he smiled and gazed around the somewhat peaceful room. Nora rested on Ren's back as the latter worked on some assignment, lazing like a sloth with a goofy grin. Pyrrha messed with her Scroll, fully relaxed with her feet scrunched up together as opposed to her school self. Occasionally he heard Nora snicker, knowing full well it belonged to him. However, between all that, his sights rested on the crudely made coupon book Ruby made.

He eyed the sticker-covered flipbook, one of the few perks of signing his social-life away. Tiny smiles greeted him with a few Grimm stickers thrown into the mix. Ruby loved her stickies from what he gathered. He grabbed the booklet and turned it over, only now noticing the _Property of Ruby Rose, Go Away_ warning. Inside he found mismatched pieces of cut up paper in what he presumed to be in the shape of rectangles. The handwriting spoke of Ruby. The craftsmanship screamed her name. Everything about it was the patent-pending creation of one Ruby Rose.

Screw it. Might as well look. Some might prove helpful when stuck in a jam.

He flipped through the handmade coupon book, wondering what delights waited inside for him. Oh? Would you look at that, a Free Car wash by Ruby Rose with a drawing of a car and Ruby next to the wording?

Now he just needed a car.

Against his eye-rolling emotions, he laughed. That drew Nora's attention. "Whatcha laughing about, Jaune?"

"Ruby, she made me this coupon book, but I'm starting to think it's useless. Here's one for a free car wash, but I doubt I'd ever use it." He tried to control his good mood until he turned the page to find a better coupon. "Oh-oh! And look at this one! Give Ruby Rose Five Lien. W-Why would I even use that?"

Nora beamed and bounced from Ren's back and snatched the booklet, flipping through the pages. She stopped on a random page and grinned at what greeted her. "Hey! This one's cute! One Free Laugh at any Bad Joke! If only Yang had a whole book full of these."

He attempted not to laugh, fearing for karma or the chance of Yang having super-sensitive ears. Yes, some of these screamed Ruby. Yes, that one was _cute_ as Nora said. No, he didn't need it. Unlike Yang, this blond knew how to tell jokes, but details aside, he plucked the booklet from Nora's claws and rested on his bed.

"I guess I should see what weapons I've been given to fight back with."

Nora poked her leader in the ribs. "Anything's better than a shield and sword."

"Hey!" Jaune poked right back. "Don't mock it till you try it. Crocea Mors is great. It's a classic."

"Classic is just another word for boring."

He stuck his tongue out. Perfectly natural for a leader. Nora tried to one-up him, _this_ ready to tackle her leader in the stomach with the same explosive force as a grenade or very massive hammer, but Ren anticipated such a move and came from behind and pulled her away before she jumped. Pyrrha smiled in amusement as Ren effortlessly held the squirming Valkyrie in his unbending arms. So used to her antics that he moved at least four steps ahead of her. What an intriguing couple, even if they sprouted not together-together nonsense.

"Come on." Ren urged. "Time to get ready for bed."

"But I'm not..." _Yawn_! "Tired."

Jaune and Pyrrha smirked at the way Nora's fighting dropped to a minimal at the mention of bed. Maybe she was tired, cranky for being rudely woken up at seven in the morning, or perhaps she just loved sleeping on Ren's chest and folded when the opportunity presented itself. Hard to tell. On the other hand, Jaune used the growing silence to flip through more pages of the booklet.

 _Flip_!

He playfully scoffed as he read over the passing pages. More Ruby-related coupons. More busy work. Curse, busy work. Tickets such as Bake Ruby Cookies made him laugh. Others like Chose Outfit Monday and Keep Your Stinkin' Strawberries filled him with hope. Copy Ruby's Homework, Don't Tell Yang made his chest flutter. All of these were unique, so Ruby, it almost made him want to use the Give Ruby Five Lien card.

Then there was what he dubbed his Golden Ticket.

He eyed the last coupon with interest. This one was perfectly cut into a rectangle and folded at the end to make it tearable. Ruby put extra-care into this one. Flipping it over, he raised a brow thoughtfully. Huh. A Get Out of Jail Free card? Nothing Ruby exclusive? That sounded too good to be true.

 _One freebie! When used the person who uses it either wins an argument, gets away with a prank, or makes the other person do what the other wants one time. Whatever! It's a get out of jail free card! Stop asking questions!_

The noodle grinned at the picture of her drawn smiley face. Probably the best in the lot. Unquestionably needed to save that for a rainy day. Got to avoid those frowny stickers somehow. Ugh! Baker's dozen cookies. He got goosebumps just thinking about it.

 _Shiver_!

Jaune breathed and checked around to see his team dozing off. Sleep did sound good, tomorrow demanded him to be ready, and he hadn't realized how long he got stuck reading that contract until he noticed the moon shining outside. What a day, first early morning shopping and a game of tag from hell. At least tomorrow only had board games to fret over. How bad could that—the paranoid noodle closed his mouth hard.

He thought nothing else, said nothing else, huddled under his sheets and shut his eyes tight from the surrounding room.

He thought nothing else, said nothing else, huddled under his sheets and shut his eyes tight from the surrounding room.

From that point onward a routine followed the two leaders.

 **...**

Sunday night was Board Game Night.

Board Game Night occurred in Team RWBY's room with only the two leaders competing against each other, on the floor, a few feet from each other, all fun and games. She restlessly tapped her legs on the carpet floor, concentrating intensely at the game in front of them as she waited for him to commence his turn. Jaune Arc offered the frustrated Rose a thoughtful grin. It only furthered to sour her mood.

Ruby Rose hated losing. Next to the term _sore loser_ in the dictionary, one saw a picture of her. No matter the game or how close or how far the match was, if she lost, she pouted.

Ruby pouted a lot in Board Game Night.

Jaune Arc learned this the hard way when she ripped the dice out of his hands and flung them out the nearest window. Ignoring the fact they were at least five stories high, and the force of a falling pair of dice could prove catastrophic for the unlucky resident walking by, he reached for a spare pair of dice and continued with his roll.

Catapults and King Taijitu was a board game the whole family could enjoy. Like a family of eleven with a mother and father, eight siblings, seven sisters and one brother, and a grandfather, but that was neither here nor there. Either a player managed to hitch a ride on a slingshot to spring them out the forest, or the King Taijitu gobbled them up in its nest. Fun, simple, and most of all luck based.

Ruby had the worst of luck.

Overlooking her flustered cheeks, he shook his hand and tossed the dice. A pair of sixes came up, and the Arc grinned in defiance of the gasping girl. Yes! A catapult! He was about to win! Victory was his! Buh-bye pesky Grimm, enjoy Ruby's pawn! Might taste like chicken.

 _Boom_! _Boom_! _Boom_!

The innocent board game fell victim to a volley of fifty-caliber bullets. A smoking barrel was the culprit and controlling the trigger was a fuming, combat skirt wearing leader with a flutter of rose petals revealing the use of her Semblance. A deep breath passed through his lips. Hurt to admit that he was far too used to such an outcome. The first time had been a surprise, and the next few dulled the sensation. What board game number was that now, seven? The smoldering remains of the other games made it difficult to count. Too many bullet holes, not enough enough pieces.

At this rate, they were running out of games to play, and he had no desire to purchase more if she kept acting like a sore loser. On the flip side, it might constitute a frowny face. He humphed, decisions, decisions. Continue playing—beating—her, or call it a night? Glancing off to his side, only one game remained. Whelp? Might as well finish off the last of them.

Jaune pushed her weapon away, grabbed the game, and held it up to the squirming girl with a broadish grin.

"Hope you like _I'm Sorry_ the game."

 **...**

 _Cough_! _Cough_!

Jaune leaned against a tree as he desperately inhaled air. Another day, another moment of their one-sided game. Monday was tag and movie night, which meant he chased Ruby without success, and for some odd reason, she made a point to be mocking today. Doing little dances, waggling her tongue at him, making noises, the works.

Maybe she still felt sore of the thrashing he gave her on Board Game Night?

He snickered and bumped his head on the bark. Okay! No more games! No more Mr. Nice Jaune! He would tag her this time. Ugh! He coughed out more air and banged his fist on the tree. Who was he kidding? She could be wearing a blindfold with a pair of noise-suppression headphones, and he still wouldn't be able to catch her, much less escape if he someone managed the impossible.

"Tired?" Ruby appeared from behind and pushed a towel to his face. "Good thing I brought the towel this time."

Another snort escaped him, innocent act his butt, she was rubbing it in, but he accepted the towel anyway. "Thanks."

The Arc sighed and brushed away from the tree. He rubbed his face with his body covered in a thick layer of sweat. Ruby impatiently watched as he refused to lift his shirt and clean underneath. Maybe last time had been a one-time deal—uh-uh! Biting her lip, he ignored formalities and tugged the useless fabric off to wipe off sweat. If she scoffed it off last time, then this one shouldn't be any different, or so he thought. Either way, being too tired meant he cared for nothing else than to clean himself off. She, on the other hand, drunk in the sight of a sweaty Jaune as he focused on the task of cleaning himself with his muscles bending and flexing depending on the motion. Who knew he hid so much underneath a bunny hoodie?

Good thing she got him nice and sweaty.

What a dirty—!

"Ruby?"

She almost _eeped_ , almost. "Yeah, Jaune?"

Hair attached to his face, he breathed halfheartedly with the outside breeze doing him some good. Dummy tied the towel around his hair. "Lunch?"

She smiled at the dork. "Make sure to get a strawberry smoothie with extra strawberries."

 **...**

Movie Night of Monday focused on the task of first choosing a movie to watch in Team RWBY's room as her teammates spent their time hitting the town.

It sounded simple. It wasn't. Both bickered on which movie to watch. Thriller. No! Action? Nah! A compromise! Between the choices of crime, drama, romantic-comedy, gore, and sci-fi with cowboys, the leaders decided on the remaining option, horror.

"No! What are you doing! Don't go into that room! Ahh!"

Ruby slurped away at her extra-large Ph.D. Fiz, unfazed, sneaking a peek at the scaredy leader with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders that only allowed her toes to pop out. Jaune screamed, hid under his sweater, peeped through his fingers, and overall acted like a child while watching Fred's Maniac Scalp Trimming, the D in Fred Standing for Death!

Not her. She saw past the fake gore and killer barber. She had half-expected to laugh with him alongside the movie, since, well, they fought Grimm. After all, how could a freaky barber named Fred who rhymed be remotely scary compared to a monster with teeth and claws? Still somehow scared the Fearless Leader. He shivered like a leaf.

Another scene came on with Freaky Fred cornering a poor doggy that somewhat reminded her of Zwei, except pink. "That's when my tired eyes beheld a doggy dog, like dog he smelled, D-O-G is what he spelled, and that's how I spell... naughty."

Then Jaune threw ration out the window, like the Fate of her dice, crawled into her blanket and hugged her tight with her face pressed to his chest. His strong arms gripped her firm with her chin rested on top her noggin. Looking up, she saw him trying to conquer his fears as Fred hurt the poor dog, pulling her closer in a cocoon of heat to watch the trimming.

She felt the escalation of his heartbeat through his chest. Another scene with Fred sent him over the edge. "He looked at me, his fetching eyes, and fetching fur did hypnotize, and filled with joy, and filled with sighs, and that's when I got... naughty."

Not a word passed his lips.

His muscles flexed on instinct with her body practically pushed into his lap. A much bigger body held hers with arms bulkier than hers with a chest easy to cuddle against and warmth similar to a safe and comfortable bed. She looked up, against her better judgment, and swallowed at the sight of his fearful eyes yet thinned lips. So much fear, but he refused to back down. Huh, maybe he wasn't holding her to protect himself, but her?

Squirming, Ruby fell into the space of his shoulder and sighed contently. For such a scaredy cat to protect her, she felt quite safe. Blood _did_ rush to her cheeks, but his beating heart made it difficult to concentrate.

Next week she would choose horror again.

...

Jaune wanted nothing more than to laugh on Tuesday.

Tag and training were same with Ruby, except it involved stamina training. More running, and more pushing his face into the dirt. Okay, so laugh _and_ cry, but he feared today being all about scythes and the person said weapons wanted to slice into bite-sized bits, a pleasant surprise to find that not being the case.

Minus the face in dirt part.

If anything she pushed harder in speed than tag. To be expected in training, but she focused on merely running zigzag formations around him, never actually hitting him. Pushing she had no problem with, but hurting never appeared to be her goal. Nevertheless, landing a push of his own never happened. He chased, lunged, skipped, and fell over in a useless effort to catch her. Rose petals practically turned the forest into a flower garden of his failure.

"You're slow!" Ruby giggled as she stood behind him, arms folded playfully behind her back.

He sighed and reached out to grab her, but she vanished, leaving nothing but a burst of rose petals in his wake. The leader fell to his knees and wiped the sweat from his eyes. Darn it. Hair dripped on his face with his heart loud in his ears and muscles straining. Not even close. A teasing push came from his blind spot and shoved him to the floor with him falling on his back in another defeat. Then a figure overshadowed the sun and leaned down to poke him on the nose with that same thoughtful grin he showed her on Board Game Night.

"Still too slow."

Jaune frowned. "Ha-ha, I'd be fast too if I was made out of sugar, spice, and everything nice."

Another poke to the nose. "Boop."

"I'm gonna tell Nora."

She laughed and zoomed away to come back and throw his towel to his face. A lively _plop_ sound resonated upon impact. He groaned and thought nothing of it, no point. Better to wipe the sweat from his eyes as the increase of moisture made it harder to see her run. Not like he believed he could catch her, but giving up wasn't a motto the Arcs knew. Strong. Brave. Heroic. A few of the others his family valued.

Words he was not.

He sat up and dried his face, and she watched him. Watched him stand up. Watched him peel off his shirt. Watched the way his body moved in the gracious sun that made the sweat unfairly shine. Ruby couldn't even take her eyes away from the way he seemed to gather his confidence back once he caught his breath. That dopey smile reflected that of a good heart. Perfect for a Huntsman and maybe something more for her—?!

A body tackled her distracted figure to the ground and captured both her hands above her head. Blinking eyes stared at victorious oceans. Legs trapped her waist, and the Arc grinned down at the stunned Rose. If he cared at all about his naked chest or labored breathing, he dutifully ignored it. Maybe all the sweat cleaning dissolved such feelings and morals, or perhaps he didn't dare pass up the chance to win for something so frivolous as covering one's self up when the person of interest had already seen him shirtless more than once?

None of it mattered.

"Ha!" Jaune smirked. "I finally got you! You're trapped! What are you going to do now?"

Ruby held her breath for all about three seconds before returning the smirk. Wiggling beneath him, the Arc blinked at the way her body fidgeted, that was until a tornado of rose petals entrapped him and pushed him away from her. He slid upon the ground. Aura protected his shirtless chest from scrapes and bruises on an unforgiving floor, but it was all for naught with Ruby seizing the advantage and pinning him down in the same position, only reverse, and considerably much closer because of their height difference.

She huffed happily. "So? What were you saying?"

Hn? The leader thoughtfully considered his options. The grip on his wrists was weak. Her weight minimal at best. Her small stature played well into speed, not strength. Without it, he knew reasonably well he had the force to reverse the reverse and trap her, but why push for more training? Give her the win! Stop eating dirt! Put a shirt on! All good reasons to forfeit the win.

Plus she might try that tornado of death thing again.

"Fine." Jaune grinned. "You win. Now get off me."

She _ha-ed_ and stood up. Another victory for Ruby Rose! One her, zero him. Better luck next time! Poor Jaune tried to look indifferent, but she poked him in the ribs, and the sore loser threw his towel on her face.

Ew! Sweat!

The short leader quickly threw the towel back and wrinkled her nose. Smelly! She moved up to push him, but he hardly budged. A second push accomplished nothing except to remind her how sore her hands were. Then she went in for a third, but he grabbed her wrists and shoved her back with ease.

Ouch!

Ruby rubbed her wrists tenderly. Not a bad feeling, but a good one. The feel of his rough skin, the mass of his weight, and everything else refused to go away. Her traitorous mind replayed the image of him pinning her down so vividly she might need soap to scrub her brain. The leader had to bite her lip upon watching Jaune clean the dirt between the crevices of his muscles and skin. Her cheeks flushed when he stretched his arms to reach his shoulder blades. Images of those arms pressing her to the floor or some wall made the blood travel faster and burn twice as hot.

Against all rational thought, the tenderness in her wrists felt good. Signs pointed to _yes_. She liked being beneath him. She enjoyed the feeling of his skin touching hers. She adored his bare chest. Most of all, she loved the face he made when he was confident.

Ruby Rose shook her head. The heat and exhaustion from training must be getting to her? Yeah, she nodded numbly, nothing else.

"Hungry?"

She smiled. "Always."

 **...**

Wednesday was wrestling in Team JNPR's room.

An odd activity, one he voiced his opinion. "So why wrestling?"

Ruby stretched by touching her toes. "I want to show Yang that I can fight without Crescent Rose. It's a surprise. And the surprise is I'm going to kick her butt."

The Arc dumbly nodded as he watched her stretch in the middle of the empty room. She wore an interesting outfit, to sugarcoat it, and by interesting, he meant distracting. Dust, where did she even get that outfit? Red, tight-fitting, tiny shorts, a criminally short tank top with her team's name etched on the front and Rose on the back with a large number one in the middle in a color scheme of red and white with barely able to breathe fabric, and elbow pads and red wristbands that somehow upped the outfit's appeal. Yeah, no! Any hot-blooded male wouldn't be able to keep her eyes off her. Off her bare backside, exposed stomach, her stretching legs, her supple—breathe!

Ha! _Sigh_ , he breathed a second time and glanced down at his outfit. A pair of loose shorts and a larger shirt, either he wasn't taking this wrestling seriously enough, or she took hers too seriously. Thank Oum she preferred to wrestle in the confine of his team's room.

She struck a mean pose. "Prepare to meet your maker!"

Jaune gulped, remembering yesterday's fiasco of a training session. Him punchbag, her the fists. Not a pretty picture for him. At the very least he figured out his answer. She took things too seriously and him not enough. After all, she created a Friendship Contract that he foolishly signed.

Irony was more than a five-letter word.

He brought his hands up in mock surrender. "Hey! Remember, I'm all about the breathing."

"Through a straw!"

Head tilt. Okay, new plan. Pray to Oum she didn't hit below the belt. Not much of a strategy, but she already charged at him with her arms out, and he had limited options. Then she tackled him with all her five-foot-two might, and everything flipped.

Humor was also another five-letter word.

Ruby Rose by all definition was a prodigy. Fast, powerful, and skilled, the many qualities to a high-degree individual, but she lacked physical strength. That couldn't be any more obvious with her trying to pin him, or topple him over. He had a difficult time figuring out which. None of this might have been a problem with her excess speed to compensate her weak force, but without it, Jaune stared down at the helpless girl virtually hugging his chest with her feet pressed firmly back. Suddenly all those appealing qualities died off, and he forced himself not to laugh.

Then she growled, and he couldn't hold it in anymore.

Laughter echoed in the room, and she pushed harder to push him down, growling even. None of it worked. It only reinforced his chuckles before he went on the offensive.

Time for payback for yesterday's training.

His hands went for her wrists first, seizing them in a vice-grip and she froze. Jaune disregarded that and pulled back, creating distance from the weak tackle-hug and forcefully spun her around. One of the perks of seven siblings, sisters or not was they loved to wrestle or roughhouse. He had way more experience than her, and that shined when he pulled her in and wrapped his arms around her to lift her off the floor and squeeze. Silver eyes exploded in emotions.

 _Warning_! _Warning_! _Hot_! _Hot_!

Her skin burned from the way his arm brushed against her exposed stomach. Weak fingers gripped his steady hands in a hopeless effort to break free. Things only escalated her temperature when he bent back to prevent escape. She felt everything. Every-thing! Back to his chest, soft skin against rough, and her body hugged against his. No more sneaky looks, definitely not scraggly. Just like in the forest, except her excitement grew with the confident undertone his voice carried.

"Give up, Rubes?"

Yes, she gave up. She gave up completely.

A petite body slacked in his hold, and she resisted a groan when he pulled her closer. No. No! She venomously shook her head. No more! Whatever this was had to stop! Now! Strength returned to her jelly-like hands, but it was all for naught. He stubbornly refused to budge.

Jerk.

She sighed. "Yes, yes, you win! Now put me down!"

He did the opposite and raised a brow. "You know, you're kinda light, Rubes. Not to say I thought you were heavy, but you're way lighter than I thought you'd be." To prove his point, he flipped her and held her up with ease. "See?"

Ruby frowned. Okay, now this was just embarrassing, stop treating her like a child! So what if she was tiny. Some people called that fun-size! Fun! Size!

Arms shook in the air. "Put me down! Put me down now, Jaune!"

"Alright, alright." Jaune began releasing his grip, but the action caused her to slip between his hands until he hit something in the way, and his fingers gripped onto a softer part of her anatomy that raised the blood to his cheeks in record time. So soft— _gah_ —he quickly backed away and tried, and in vain, not to remember the feel of her pillows in his hands. The dummy quickly lowered his head in shame. "Uh! I'm so sorry, Ruby, that was an accident!"

She heard none of that.

A compelling thump shook her body. Might have been something in her heart, might have been not. Blood promptly rushed to her cheeks with her whole body warming up to the stunning episode. Strong. Warm. A few of the words to describe the sensation she felt upon his fingers gripping her, _ahem_ , chest. Accident or not, just like training she _liked_ the feel of his firm body. Only now she was more conscious of the risque outfit she wore and all the skin it exposed for him to see, touch, grab, _feel_. She shivered with a wobbling breath. Must be the blood.

Had to be the blood.

A quick lick of her lips happened, but he saw none of that, still hiding his nervousness.

Then she grabbed his lowered head and managed to flip him on his back with a hefty heave. Dizziness quickly captured his senses from having his world flipped upside-down, and everything wired back to normal when her body mounted his chest and kept him trapped to the floor.

"It's okay, Jaune." Ruby smiled, a fist posed for his shocked features. "Accidents happen."

The Arc accepted the weak punch to the nose. Anything to keep the blood from flowing downward and out his nose instead.

Someone needed to tell Ruby not to straddle people in that outfit!

 **...**

Thursday included a mountain of snacks and video games.

When it came to board games and cards, Jaune Arc was the King of Games but compared to handhelds and consoles, and suddenly Ruby Rose stole the crown.

A give and take system.

He beat her at board games and wrestling, and she destroyed him in tag and video games. Lunch between the two ended in her favor, but he signed a Friendship Contract, so being picky wasn't in the fine print. That, too, included Saturday and the specially themed days like her birthday or the first of every month. Twin day had yet to happen, coming up this Saturday, but he kept that coupon in his pocket for the day she decided dresses or fake mustaches with faker accents.

In the end, the rules bent to her favor.

Even now, sitting criss-crossed on the floor with his Scroll in his hand, a monitor on the dresser, and enough sugary snacks to make even Miss Strawberry puke, it all focused on her drive to either whoop his butt in gaming, or help her complete that one level too challenging. Not to say he minded, because he didn't, not at all. So far Thursday might turn out to be the best day of them all.

After all, who hated video games?

"Are you ready to melt some zombies?!"

Ruby plopped right down next to him, copying his sitting stance with a small wobble. She gripped her Scroll with a mad-hungry look. Slashing zombies, the number one motivator to crazy, call nine-one-one.

He scoffed. "I think they're mutants, Ruby."

"Yeah! Yeah!" Ruby shook her Scroll. "Are you ready or not? Or is someone scared of a little mole?"

He humphed. "Start the game. I'm going to beat your high score."

"We're supposed to be working together!"

"We are." Jaune reasoned. "But my teamwork's going to be a little bit better than yours."

"Over my dead body!"

"That's fine, more points for me."

She stuck her tongue out and started the game. Immediately mutant mole people from the zombie dimension of the future's past started filling the screen to decimate their character stand-ins. Wave after wave, monster after monster, level after level, they played with button mashing and snack eating. Bright lights from the screen filled the curtain shielded room. A monster snuck up behind Ruby's character. Ah! No time to reach for a weapon. Input lag! Closing in, no, no, no, no!

 _Crunch_!

Drat! She lost a life! Respawn time was a minute. She needed to risk on his skills not to die. Worse yet, he was going to rake in the points as she sat idly by. A costly move, one he took full advantage of with his tongue stuck out in concentration and fingers gliding over the inputs on his Scroll.

With nothing else to do but wait, she carefully eyed the way his fingers messed around with the control. While he lacked her awe-inspiring skills, they still moved in precision. Long fingers strutted powerfully and fast over buttons, concentration set to eleven, and all attached to her awkward friend. Such a scene made her wonder what kind of effect that set of focus would have on her if he used those fingers on her skin and underneath her— _gah_!

She glared away from his hands and converged entirely on the screen. No more distraction! Monster killing time! This time her digits moved in a blur. Kill after kill! Fast and concise, all things attributed to a kick-butt gamer. Unlike his fingers, hers were soft and petite, able to explore more like the crevices of the muscles on his bare chest after an exhausting game of— _crunch_!

"Wow!" Jaune laughed, eyes on the prize. "You stink at this game. No wonder you needed my help."

She smiled, but it was as shallow as a puddle. "Ha-ha."

Stupid distractions! She planned to get extra, _extra_ brussels sprouts for him during their next meal.

Beyond that no more distractions, the goofballs played until their eyes hurt with their sugary and salty substance all gone. The game would have gone on for longer, but Yang walked into the room to find them focused entirely on the pixel art. She yelled out _hello_ , but the knuckleheads ignored her to blast mutants. Oh well, she shrugged, time for the hard way.

The dragoness cheerfully hummed as she waltzed across the room. Neither of them noticed her grip the pulled down blinds. Neither of them heard her count down from three. Heck! She even stopped at two-and-a-half to warn them, but gaming addiction was a grave illness. Patients exhibited no reaction to the antibodies, aka Yang, so the only option left was a treatment of the vitamin D kind. With that, she released the blinds and allowed the sun to shine.

Yang smirked. "Oops, my finger slipped."

Their cries and groans were music to her ears, good old sunlight, the perfect wake-me-upper, or in their case, cruel and unusual punishment. Too much video games rotted the mind, and these two, ergo the contract maker and signer, didn't need any more brain rottage. Call her Friend of the Year. Yes, she did accept buttery snacks as a _thank you_ gift. Add a little honey in it to soften it up.

"My eyes!" Ruby moaned while shielding her eyes with her combat skirt. Jaune hid behind her. Dork. "Ah! Close the blinds, Yang. Close them. It burns."

Her sister scoffed at the exaggerated act of it all and closed them halfway. Still, if anything, this was a good lesson, no playing video games in the dark. Maybe now her clueless sister might have at least a backlight somewhere in the room to reduce pain or suffer future consequences. On the other side of the spectrum, she heard the telltale sounds of their video game character biting the dust. Darn mole people!

She dramatically pointed to the screen. "Uh-oh, looks like you lost."

Ruby huffed in annoyance. Jaune knew better than to huff, but he sighed. Yang plopped her butt down on her head, watching the two blink the spots away from their eyes. They quickly played another game and Yang watched from the sidelines. Explosion once again filled the room. Mole people attacked. Button mashing, lots and lots of button mashing, and all things mind-numbing.

 _Crunch_!

Ruby's player died. Yang raised a brow on the fifth time that happened in the last hour. Hn? Weird. Every time her sister died, Ruby appeared not too angry about it, but she had a habit of focusing on the way Jaune's fingers moved over the controls. It would be one thing to focus on Vomit Boy since if he died, they lost, but no, she kept her attention fixed on his fingers. Not his face, or his body—who knew for sure if she did or not—but his hands. More importantly, Ruby's character died a lot.

Last time she checked, Ruby was a wizard when it came to bash-em-ups. Board and card games was another story, but this was sixty-frame gaming. Something was throwing off her sister's concentration and allowing Vomit Boy to take the lead. The fun part was figuring out if it was either a subconscious or conscious act.

So Yang observed.

She watched them play, watched them shoulder bump in competitiveness, watched them be themselves, and it was acting normal where Yang could distinguish. The final piece of the puzzle came when they beat the game. High scores and yadda-yadda-yadda, she focused nothing on that. Nope! Her attention got drawn to the way her sister looked at Jaune after they won. Ruby smiled wholeheartedly with her hands bunched downward between the hole in her criss-crossed legs.

Yup, Yang thought, if that wasn't a smile that blinded the sun and made the honey-due melt in her cheeks, then she tanked at fighting.

The Arc pointed smugly at the flashing points. "Would you look at that, new high score."

Ruby poked him on the cheek, stubbornly. His stupid grin remained. "That's because my controller was busted. My Q button wasn't working. You. Got. Lucky."

He scoffed. "Yeah, sure, just what I expect a sore loser to say. Luck had nothing to do with it. That was one-hundred percent skill."

Yang rolled her eyes at the silly banter. Dorks, both of them. On the bright side, at least the Friendship Contract didn't make this awkward. Being forced into a friendship might seem like a bad idea with no u-turn, but the dummy who signed it didn't believe in asking for directions, a perfect friend for her socially-awkward sister.

So Yang continued observing.

She watched the way Jaune stole Ruby's Scroll to check for damages—he found zip—and she made a mad dash to reach it. Nothing out of the ordinary so far, but then when Ruby did manage to grab hold of her Scroll, her fingers lingered on his when she pulled away. A too subtle of a movement for anyone to catch but Yang Xiao Long. A speedster moved quickly. Ruby should have been able to avoid his grip way before he grabbed her Scroll.

Unless, of course, she wanted him to steal it out of her hand.

If that was the case, then that meant—?!

A smirk spread across the brawler's cheeks. Subtle glances, lingering touches, unrivaled happiness, all of the symptoms added up. Ruby wanted nothing more to lace her fingers around his, hence the reason she couldn't look away. Might be a subconscious act on her part, but facts didn't lie.

Still, she required more proof before jumping to a conclusion.

Narrowing her eyes, Yang watched the Arc boy leave rigidly once the game ended. He bumped into a few things, being a clumsy fool, could probably blame the lack of light exposure and his legs being asleep, and her baby sister giggled. She waved away at a guy walking five steps to his dorm. Then she suddenly remembered something and ran to him and pulled on his hoodie, gripping arms tight near his hands, more closely his wrists. At that point, Yang cared naught for the message and smirked wider.

Yup!

Ruby was infected with the hand-holding virus. Sadly, no cure. That only left a few courses of treatment, cheek pinching, teasing until her face matched a tomato and plenty of embarrassing photos. So once the two stopped being cavity-inducing sweet and the door closed, she moved in with a predatory smirk and eyes burning in delight.

"You like Vomit Boy."

Ruby turned around and tilted her head. "Duh! He's my bestie."

Yang shook her head and poked her sister on the rib. "No! I mean you like, _like_ him. It's written all over your face."

The leader kept her gaze painfully docile. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Another poke to the ribs.

"Don't lie to me ol' baby sis of mine. You know me better than that. I saw the way you stared at his hands. So what? Got a hand fetish? C'mon, tell me!" Yang leaned down and continuously pulled on Ruby's cheeks. "Tell me! Tell me! Tell me!"

The cherry-rosed leader swatted her hands away and threw hers up. "Gah! Okay, okay! Stop it!" Ruby sighed. "I might like him. Might! Okay? Maybe. It's probably nothing. Shut up."

"So why the hands? What? You want to feel them explore your body or something?" When Ruby said nothing, focused more on her shuffling feet, Yang hid a growing smirk behind her palm. "Oh, Ruby. How naughty!"

More emotional outbursts. "It's not my fault! It's his! Him and his stupid need to take off his shirt after every game of tag. He started this, not me!"

Yang raised a brow with pouty lips. "After _every_ game? So this is a repeated performance? Not a one time thing?" Again, Ruby said nothing. "Ruby?"

"... It's not my fault."

"After _every_ game." Yang repeated, and then her eyes lit up. "Oh, I get it. The first time was an accident, but the other times you purposely got him all hot to make him take his shirt off. Tell me I'm wrong."

Ruby exploded. "Video games made me do it! I'm young and impressionable! It's society's fault!"

Yang glomped her sister. "I am so proud of you!"

"Can't. Breathe." The brawler squeezed harder and released her only when she groaned. Oops! Ruby stepped back and breathed, eyeing her sister warily. "So you're _not_ mad?"

A smirk. "I told you to get out of your shell. I didn't exactly mean this, but it's a good start, and Vomit Boy's scraggly, so he's harmless."

The leader frowned. "He's not scraggly."

A bigger smirk. "I guess you would know, huh? Tell me, do you like him all sweaty?"

Shirtless Jaune? Shirtless Jaune short of breath? Ruby blushed at the thought. Yang laughed. Ha! Facts did not lie. Physical appearance was just a bonus any warm-blooded female appreciated. Maybe Yang didn't see the appeal, but Ruby did, and that was more than effort encouragement to help the clueless dolt.

Plus the dolt asked. "What should I do?"

"Give me the contract."

 **...**

Freestyle Friday.

Ruby Rose described friendship in a pile of papers. Letters, numbers, bullet-points, commas, all of it. She had a color-coordinated calendar when they played games or when they trained, coupons that might or might not be beneficial to her, and a competitiveness that was more stubborn than healthy. All in all, friendship was a ten-letter word, five more than irony or humor.

Jaune Arc learned this the hard way upon signing Friday and indulging Saturday. Now it was full circle and Friday once more. Heh, Freestyle Friday, an original name, sounded unusually innovative, like Anything Could Happen Thursday. So what _could_ happen today? Another contract?

"Yeah, right." Jaune laughed as he knocked on Team RWBY's door. "Won't catch me signing another one of those."

Ruby opened the door with the rest of her team mysteriously absent. He walked in anyway, too used to her to be the least bit suspicious, and when he shut the door closed, a gust of wind ran up his spine. When he turned around, he found his back pressed to the door by a tiptoeing Ruby. A stack of papers, acting as a shield, was gripped between her fingers with her eyes peeking over the edge. A trail of guilty rose petals fluttered on the floor, revealing her sudden use of her Semblance. Then she shoved the papers into his hands and acted stubbornly for someone shorter than him.

Déjà vu.

What? The leader blinked. Another contract? He just got used to this one. Oum! Barely a week had passed before she wrote a new one. Well nope! Not this time. He had no intention of signing away anything else. Fun or not, a guy could only eat so many brussels sprouts or run his lungs dry.

"You don't have to sign this one."

Oh? No signature? Not a contract then? He sighed in relief and accepted the stack of papers. "Oh, okay. So what is it? A list of the things we have to choose from for Freestyle Friday?"

Her cheeks burned, and she shook her head but firmly kept eye contact. He glanced down. Nope. Not another Friendship Contract or a list of activities per se, but more, much more.

Girlfriend Contract in bold letters greeted him.

A sense of disbelief overcame him, and he read over the contract absently, more of a reflex if anything. Hand-holding, cuddling, bedtime kisses, shirtless tag—what?! The Arc set his sights on the flustered girl, matching the color of her cloak. Suddenly that five-foot-two height appeared intimidating, but for all the best reasons. Ha. Ha-ha. Not a failed tactic.

Wait?

 _You don't have to sign this one?_

What did she mean by that?

As Jaune flipped to the first page of the Girlfriend Contract, Ruby chewed her lip nervously. Much thought went into making this new and improved contract with the aid of a seriously reluctant Schnee. Plenty of brainpower! Maybe even too much thinking. Maybe not? Crazy was just a five-letter word. Yang called it crush syndrome, whatever that meant, but her heart rattled violently in her chest. No time to think!

Not like she had to fret over him signing it.

Ruby already forged his signature and taped the _Get Out of Jail Free_ card above her clumsy wording.

 **…**

Saturday came, and it was the first of the month.

Twin day!

Jaune Arc attempted to use his coupon to escape wearing a blue cloak that matched with a bullet belt, but Ruby Rose revoked that coupon with the lines being between _coupon's expired_ and _nope_.

Part of the Girlfriend privileges. Next to hand-holding and letting her win on Board Game Night.

The Kissing Clause made it difficult to argue.

Her smile made it impossible.

* * *

 **Author Notes:** Inspired by **Sheldon Cooper** from The Big Bang Theory. Also, before any of you ask, I ship **Sheldon** and **Penny**.


End file.
